Research

This paper, which forms part of an ongoing PhD study, attempts a summary overview of research on pupil competence in modern languages in the primary school, as presented by a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The research question for the SLR was: “What sort of evidence do research papers present for pupil competence skills and language progress in the primary school?” The paper reflects on the literature review findings in regard to pupil language competence and the recommendations for practitioners and policy makers they offer.

Drawing upon a substantial evidence base and employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, this paper examines the post-war ‘rise and fall’ cycles of Modern Language (ML) uptake and attainment in Scotland in the context of both political and educational governance of Scottish education at national, local authority and school levels. The paper provides a systematic attempt to gather the available evidence on patterns of ML enrolment and attainment and the causes of these patterns. The findings of the paper suggest a strong link between the fluctuating nature and quality of Scottish politico-educational governance and the periods of growth and decline in Modern Languages. These findings are of particular interest as the current downward trends in ML uptake and attainment are nearing levels only once reached before in the late 1980s. The paper offers some insights into why this may be the case and how these issues might be addressed.

This paper reports on the analysis of a subset of the data related to a wider project about perspectives on language learning as part of the launch event of the Scottish Government’s 1+2 language policy in November 2012. Transcriptions of interviews with learners from primary, secondary and tertiary education sectors were compared and contrasted using an iterative coding process. The findings suggest that the lack of challenge in the language curriculum, previously identified by McPake et al in 1999, continues to act as a demotivating factor, compounded by poor transition arrangements between education sectors. A subsequently conducted literature review revealed commonalities with our own findings. Some recommendations for stakeholders in languages education are put forward for consideration.

The provision of European languages within the New Zealand education system is discussed here in the context of the origins and evolution of language education in the country and the various problems that have been associated with it. These problems include the fact that any discussion of languages inevitably raises issues concerning the endangered status of Māori, the indigenous language of the country, issues which have the potential to highlight deep divisions within society. Hence, there is an unwillingness on the part of successive governments to engage seriously in debate about language needs and aspirations. Only a very small percentage of students at any level of the education system study languages other than English and Māori. Although European languages are studied by over half of those who do study languages, there is very little choice in terms of the European languages on offer. Furthermore, public opinion favours the teaching and learning of Asian and Pacific languages. In fact, two of the languages on offer that originated in Europe, French and Spanish, may have retained their position, in part, because they are, for many New Zealanders, at least as strongly associated with the Pacific and Pacific Rim countries where they are spoken as they are with their countries of origin.

The government of the state of Victoria is very supportive of the teaching of languages in Victoria’s schools. As part of the introduction of a national Australian curriculum, the states and territories of Australia are embarking on an ambitious programme of languages education that aims to deliver language-specific curricula for fifteen languages by 2025. Victoria is aiming to implement these fifteen curriculum documents and also to create generic models for other languages not included in the national project. This paper seeks to provide some background information to the policy and give an overview of current developments.

Abstracts from and weblinks to some of the most recent publications relating to language learning.

Free-to-download articles from other language journals.

Summary reminder of upcoming seminars and conferences.